Mcelrone Adapted Well To The Heptathlon

June 11, 1992|by TED MEIXELL, The Morning Call

Despite having been a star long jumper during her days at Notre Dame High School, when Maureen McElrone left her Palmer Township home in the fall of 1989 to enroll at Millersville State University, the last thing in the world she envisioned was becoming a heptathlete -- let alone an outstanding one.

But that's exactly what happened to the former Crusader, and it happened almost as soon as she hit the campus and got together with Marauders' head track coach Keith White.

"Basically, I guess you could say I was coerceed into it," McElrone said from her Millersville apartment a couple weeks ago, and just six weeks after setting a personal best of 3,983 points in the seven-event endurance test while finishing second in her school's Marauder Invitational.

"Coach White is just an avid heptathlon lover," she said. "He's constantly looking for people with what he believes is the right personality. He looks for someone who's basically a jumper, but who's also done some throwing. I'd thrown the discus as a freshman and sophomore in high school.

"Coach likes to take an outspoken type of person, who's not afraid to try new things, and turn them on to the heptathlon. I'd only done four of the seven (events) in high school, and not a whole lot in some cases, so, when I first started, he (White) wasn't quite sure I'd turn out to be one."

Okay ... so just what IS a heptathlete?

After first laughing heartily, McElrone said, "An insane person, basically. A heptathlon takes two days, over which time we do seven events. The first day we do the 100-meter hurdles, the high jump, the shot put and the open 200 (200-meter sprint). The second day, we do the long jump, the javelin and the 800-meter run.

"There's a scale -- a national scale -- for scoring, ranging from 100 to 1,000 points for each event. Just to give you an idea of where I stand, Jackie Joyner-Kersey sometimes gets nearly 1,000 in an event, while I get between 500 and 600."

Her favorite, or best, events?

"I'd say the 100-meter hurdles and javelin are pretty even. I've done 15.9 (seconds) in the hurdles and 126 (feet) in the jav."

Her least favorite?

"I struggle with the 800," she said, laughing again. "It's a distance run -- and the longest I'd ever run in high school was the 100 hurdles."

She admitted she was mildly surprised at how well she adapted to the heptathlon.

"To be honest," the senior-to-be said, "I took to everything but the 800. As a freshman and sophomore, I'd be at the point where I was on the verge of crying as it approached. Even to this day, I'm still nervous right before I have to run it. Now, I can run it in a pretty good time -- for a heptathlete -- but I'm still queasy about it."

One would think the demands of training for and competing in track and field, including the occasional heptathlon (Millersville took part in three this spring) would keep a young lady busy enough, especially when her studies are factored in.

But McElrone, a special education major who originally wanted to teach but now hopes to go to work for United Cerebral Palsy or Easter Seals en route to an eventual career in occupational therapy, takes on added responsibilities.

"I'm pretty busy," she said, "between track practice -- which, during the season, amounts to about 14 hours a week -- my studies and the two jobs I hold. I work in the (university's) vice president's office and at Herman's (Sporting Goods).

"I do like this (heptathlon), but the whole thing is I don't really get to enjoy the life of a typical college student."

None of which has held back her academic pursuits; after a typical poor first semester her freshman year, McElrone has maintained a 3.0 average the last four semesters.

Because of its demanding nature, the heptathlon is not part and parcel of every collegiate track and field meet.

"The human body needs two weeks to fully recover from (a heptathlon)," McElrone said. "We usually only have two, but this year we did three, including one at North Carolina State on our way to Florida."

What do she and the other heptathletes do with themselves during "regular" meets?

"We compete every weekend," she said. "I just work on certain events, usually three at each meet. I'll always do the 100 hurdles, and probably one of the throwing events. And then coach White might make me do an open 800 or a sprint if I need the work."

McElrone was kept from scoring well (she made only a 3,100) in the meet at N.C. State because she failed to score at all in one of her two best events -- the javelin.

"We were competing against Division 1 schools down there," McElrone said. "I was doing real well until we got to the javelin. When the officials mark your throws, the javelin must be on a slant. Two of my three throws were outside the boundary lines, and the third one was flat. So I got no points at all in the jav -- which is usually one of my best."